The Friend That Wasn't
by GretaPrewett
Summary: They always claimed they were partners and friends, but Brennan knew better since the beginning. Hoped better. But now after studying the hard facts before her she realizes the truth…and decides to adapt to it. Will Booth like the difference? BB
1. Facts

**A.N. Though I write a LOT, this is my first attempt at writing a fan fic for Bones. Let's hope I won't disappoint you all.** **So, here it is...Enjoy... and then maybe review?LOL**

**Disclaimer. I do not own Bones. Fox does. However if I did own Bones there wouldn't be that much sleeping around by a random FBI agent guy.**

* * *

During her life Temperance Brennan had chosen to never even once disregard facts.

Strong, established proof that something did indeed occur led her undeniably to the truth she sought each time. Tentative variables such as psychology and intuition never entered the equation of the doctor's life and career.

Until this morning.

Sitting in her office in the Medico-legal lab, Temperance looked beyond the glass walls seeing none of the activities taking place. Her mind was still occupied by a single word. A fact peculiar in any case, however not this time.

_Enough_

That's all she kept thinking ―hearing― in her head echoing in different volumes, and voices each time.

For two years she had been ignoring the small alarmed voice inside her. For two years she had been letting each of her multiple defenses be torn down one by one, every time making her more and more vulnerable to one person: Booth.

From the very beginning she had seen in him almost everything she admired in a male: Strength, stability, capacity for emotion, honor and a code of ethics that matched her own.

And she had let him in. She had let him change her; granted not without a fight, but he had proven himself in that as well. She had thought she found her counterpart.

And waited.

Temperance had known he would need time to see her, the real her, so she waited and showed him in small ways that she already knew they matched. Every time he touched her, she let him, and even accepted his nickname for her, relishing it as a term of endearment. She had given him her complete trust…and her heart as an afterthought.

And now, two years later he was the same.

In those moments that the pull between them became irrefutable he was always the first to look away. Always the first to avoid any conversations about feelings and relationships. Ever declaring that he was her friend, drawing lines, and revoking them as "everything happens in time" as he told her. Sleeping with everyone he wasn't supposed to…except her.

Oh yes, Booth was always there for her. But she knew from the start that 'friends' was not all they'd ever be. Their potential was greater than that. They were compatible in almost every way, indicating towards the forever she always wanted and never wanted to admit.

Her father's trial would be starting in a few weeks and Booth came by more often than usual, updating her, giving her his support when she needed it.

And today, while contemplating this, she became furious. That's when the alarms started sounding in her head.

If she let herself give in another fraction of an inch to him then she'd be lost. She would become a fool, a much worse one than she had been for the past few years and this time it would last for the end of her days.

So that was it. Enough. She had to step back.

For as much as she trusted Booth with her life, she understood now that she shouldn't have done so with her heart. Maybe, after all, he wouldn't ever share her view of them. The facts proved that he didn't so far. She had chosen to ignore the facts and rely on intuition and observation.

And finally she admitted to herself. She had failed. The truth derived from the facts was that Temperance Brennan was Seeley Booth's friend and if that wasn't enough for her, she had to step back and become that friend. _Only_ that friend; building up her walls again day by day, hoping that in time her feelings would be her own once more.

The course of action she would take was clear.

Now only to apply it.

* * *

A couple of hours later, her resolve firmly in place, Temperance stepped out in the lab to start working on a three hundred year-old specimen sent to her. Zack hovered above the table as she approached ready to work on their new project. She knew Hodgins was currently identifying particulates and soil from the area the remains had come from and Angela was forming what the native American might have looked like alive.

She was thankful for that. Angela would know in seconds that something was different. Even Temperance could feel her spine stretched straighter than usual, her eyes focusing completely of the remains, carefully avoiding looking into her colleagues' eyes. She knew everything would be apparent when Booth sooner or later showed up with a case, but she didn't want someone talking her out of her plan even before she set it in action.

"Male, late-forties, native American, cause of death…stab wound in the center of the chest- Zack, look at other wounds while I examine the fatal one." She heard her voice, sharper than usual but dismissed it. Right now it didn't even feel like it was her own voice, anyway.

"Yes, Dr. Brennan." Thankfully Zack seemed unaware of anything, so she proceeded examining the sternum while he worked on the rest of the body.

Time slipped past slowly after that and no more words were asked from her other than a few typical questions concerning work. Hodgins stayed out of sight and Angela hadn't made an appearance either as noon passed.

She was about to take a break and rest her aching neck in her office when looking up she spotted Angela coming out of her office…as well as Booth swiping his card and ascending on the platform. Cursing inwardly for what she knew now had become an even more difficult situation than it would have been she smiled at both of them.

"Hey, Booth. Another case?" Temperance observed Angela's easy manner of speaking to the FBI agent and filing the information for use in the immediate future.

"Nah, just came by to see how you people were doing. Finished paperwork and thought I'd get Bones and grab some lunch." He turned to Temperance then with a smile, which she returned though not as enthusiastically. "Ya finished here, Bones?"

"No, I still have a lot to do here, though I was about to take a break to go and write a little. Sorry, Booth." She offered what she hoped was an apologetic smile.

He walked towards her and grabbing her shoulders turned her to face her office giving her a little push forward. "Aw, come on, Bones, you can write later. I bet you haven't eaten all day. Take off the lab suit, go get your coat and I'll buy you an extra order of fries. How's that?"

Stepping away from his grip pointedly she turned and faced him once more. "No, Booth, I have to write." She emphasized each word. "My editor has given me a deadline. I can't ignore that," she replied pointedly and turned her back to his frowning look walking towards her office.

"Bones? Hey, Bones?" He followed her into her office, closing the door to Zack and Angela's curious looks. "Hey, is there something wrong?" he asked approaching the desk.

"No, everything's fine, why?"

"Okay…are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes and then turned to look at the screen, pretending to type a few lines. "Yes, I'm fine. Just busy," she almost snapped back, refusing to look at him again.

He cleared his throat then. "Okay. Well, we'll talk later, I guess." The confused tone of his voice, told her that he had noticed a difference in her. A fact which made her feel relieved and sad at the same time.

The plan was working.

The same evening when Temperance stayed awake in bed shifting through the day's events, trying to find a single hint that Booth was disappointed or even worried by her change in behaviour, she couldn't find any. She had on purpose avoided one of his calls and then answered the second one, making her tone sound absent, and not paying attention to the things he told her when in fact she actually listened to his every word searching for a hint of frustration or annoyance. She didn't find any.

Later when he had called again to ask her about a specific piece of information she hadn't allowed the usual small-talk as she found what he wanted and when she sent him the e-mail he needed, hang up without much preamble. Still nothing. The man hadn't found anything wrong.

Realizing that, tears came to her eyes. Not so much for the indifference he showed or the fact that maybe she hadn't made herself clear enough all this time. She cried because she knew that what she was trying to do would have results sooner or later. In time nothing of what she thought they had would be left. They would become what they always said they were. Just partners.

She cried because all was lost.


	2. Clues

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones. Fox does. If I did own the show though, Booth would not be wearing white briefs in a certain scene of season 2. He'd wear nothing. **

Seeley Booth was slightly annoyed.

And that only if 'slightly' carried with it the understatement of a century.

Lately everything in his life had been going from bad to worse and he had no idea if he had reached rock bottom yet. But sure as hell he would. Rebecca had been plaguing him lately about spending more time with Parker and however wonderful that was, the down side was that Parker's every other word when he was with his father was 'Drew'.

'_Drew took me to the park, Drew played catch with me, Drew has a shiny car…_'

Drew could keel over and die as far as Booth was concerned.

On the other hand Cullen had got Booth stranded in the office. For the past thee weeks he had been buried in paperwork and handling management problems without once getting a new case. He didn't really like corpses showing up left and right, true, but not being out there in the field was killing him.

Hell, even visiting the lab had stopped being fun. When he had last visited the Jeffersonian to ask if Bones was free to go to lunch she had said she was busy and dismissed him. He knew of course his partner valued work above anything and didn't wait at his beck and call to fill his lunch hour but was it such a chore to have lunch with a friend? He realized he probably got so irritated because she truly was busy , no doubt squinting at something interesting while he filled out forms and reviewed old cases.

_Yeah, right_, his mind whispered. _Try, you're angry because she ignored you._

"Don't even _go_ there!" Booth said out loud. Immediately he raised his head and looked around his office and beyond his door, checking if anyone had seen him talking to himself. No one had thankfully.

Still he couldn't shake off the worried feeling that was focused on how Bones had acted lately. It had been a week and he hadn't seen her at all. Even when they talked on the phone she always seemed preoccupied and the information on her father's trial didn't appear to peak her interest, at least not at the time he told her about it.

Damn! Why was he overanalyzing this? She might have problems of her own and that didn't necessarily mean that she'd share them with him…even if that thought hurt a bit. They were just fiends.

But sometimes, God, how he resented his decision… _No!_ He had resolved not to dwell on those feelings.

Sighing he put the manila folder back on his desk and leaned back, giving up on reading it. Life was just a crappy mess right now. Soon everything would turn back to normal though. Or he hoped so.

He was brought back to reality by the sound of his phone going off and picked it up, rubbing his temple with his free hand. "Booth."

"Hey, handsome." He smiled at the voice in his ear.

"Hey, Ange. How's it going?"

"Fine, fine. Same as usual here. Century-old dead people lying on tables all around me."

He chuckled at her bored tone. "Anything I can help with?"

"I've seen you squint, doesn't suit, honey. Though I do need you to come down to the diner." She lowered her voice which made Booth's brows furrow. "I really need to talk to you."

"What's up?"

"It's about Brennan. And no, I can't tell you more than that now.

A frown now in place, Booth quickly asked, "What time do you want to meet? Lunch?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll be at the diner in an hour with Jack."

"Hodgins? Why?"

"We'll talk to you there."

He said bye and hung up, staring at the phone curiously. Besides being busy, he hadn't noticed anything weird about Bones lately. Well maybe she was a bit snappier but he had been telling himself that's how Bones was. Even if it did an odd number on his ego and feelings sometimes. But he had promised himself to keep those feelings at bay.

Nah! Bones was fine.

Right?

* * *

"Before you sit down, I gotta say this: I really won't take anymore excuses and higher male reasoning from you, so if you plan on sitting you'd better be prepared to be honest or else just turn and leave and it's your miserable life after that, honey."

Booth had stopped just beside the table, when Angela had started talking to him.

Turning to Hodgins he raised an eyebrow in question but all he got as a reply was, "Don't look at me, man. I'm with her in this."

"_Okaaay_?" He sat down, curious to see what was going on that could have pushed Angela to speak in such a weird way. "I'm listening."

"I want honest answers, Booth. I mean it."

"Fine. Shoot."

" Did you ever want a little sister?"

"Huh? What's that got to do with anything?" He let out a frustrated sigh after receiving a glare from Angela.

"I always find it wise to just answer the question," Hodgins offered helpfully.

"Fine. Actually, yes. When I was younger I always thought it would be nice to be a big brother but it never happened." He shrugged.

"So you wanted a little sister to protect and love, right? Someone to tease and poke fun at but keep her out of trouble and care for."

"Yeah, I guess. But what's your-" He was cut off by Angela's raised palm.

"Booth, listen to me. If by any chance you have found an outlet for those sisterly feelings in Brennan, then we can go back to work right now." Her easy smile had Booth opening his mouth to reply. But then he shut it again when her smile turned into a serious expression at her next words. "However, I bet my ass that's not the case, so you'll be really interested at what I'm going to tell you."

"Accept fate, man. She always knows what's best for you. And by 'she' I mean Angela."

"Thanks, sweetie."

"Wow, wow. Guys! Hold on for a second. I really think we have to get things straight here, 'cause if you think-"

" I know. You're just partners, right? Fine. I asked for honest answers so if that's it, then we're done here." Under Hodgins' incredulous gaze, she picked up her purse and started getting up from her chair as calmly as ever.

Booth however was far from calm. He was burning to know what was going on. Deciding how to handle this proved to be really hard. He debated wit himself whether to betray the fact that he didn't see Bones as his little sister or not. In a matter of seconds his curiosity and frustration got the better of him.

"Wait! Angela, what's up that would interest me?"

The artist looked down at him mildly before replying. "Oh, nothing. Forget about it. It's Bren's issue and one I wouldn't discuss with Russ. I'm sure he wouldn't be interested." She emphasized Russ's name smiling sweetly.

Hodgins was still sitting, watching back and forth at the exchange. Booth felt like banging his head on the table. After what Angela said he _had_ to know what was going on. No matter how that went against his resolve.

He sighed in resignation and looked up at her. "Sit down, Angela."

An eyebrow quirked at his direction and he replied at the silent question. "I'm not Russ. Now sit down."

A brilliant smile later she was seated once more. "Excellent."

"That's what you say. And remember, I never said I'd do, say or act on anything, got it?"

"Gotcha. However that might be a problem."

Booth's frown deepened. "How on earth can that be a problem, Ange? Things are fine as they are, we keep them that way."

"Correction. Things _were_ fine," said Hodgins.

"Were?" He looked between the couple. "What's wrong?"

"Tell me that at least you've noticed a change in Bren in the past week!?"

"Well, I haven't seen her much but she's been busy."

"Dude, we finished up on the last Navaho we had four days ago. We've been killing time since then and Brennan has been in her office writing and filling out routine paperwork the whole time."

Booth's brows furrowed even more at what Hodgins said. Normally, in-between cases he and Bones would meet up for a reason or other and spend some time together. It was just something they did. They'd always meet up either over breakfast or dinner and not having cases going on or work to get stressed about always made those meetings even better. Now he hadn't seen her in a week and both of them weren't even busy.

"Will one of you tell me what's going on?" he demanded, suddenly extremely weary about the whole thing. Why hadn't he noticed? He knew he sounded more worried than he should, but…_Hell!_ He _was_ worried. A lot.

"We don't know exactly, honey, but listen. Remember that toy pig you gave her?"

A small smile came unbidden to Booth's lips as he nodded. "Jasper."

"Jasper? Never mind." Angela waved off her question. "Well, last week, Jasper was on her desk as always. Yesterday, when I went in to ask Bren for a file, it wasn't. On the desk or anywhere else in the room," she finished, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh."

"Exactly. We have a problem."

* * *

**A.N.: I'm glad you like this story from what I've seen in the reviews. This is going to be a somewhat short story, (max. 10 chapters) but I'd really like your input on Booth's characterization. I want to portray him as best as I can but I have no idea how I'm doing, so opinions are very much appreciated.  
**


	3. Investigation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones. Fox does. However, if I did own the show, Angela would get a lot of screen time to rant at her pleasure.**

* * *

"Say you missed me." 

The voice in her ear made Temperance jump up startled and swing around to face her partner. And for the first time in their joint careers she realized she wasn't happy to see him. Her decisions echoed loudly in her head as she steeled herself against his smile.

"Why should I say that? Is that some kind of joke I don't understand again?" She desperately grasped at the first thing that came in mind that had a chance to change the subject.

It had been a week since she last saw him and today she had finally managed some sort of acceptance and calm over her situation thinking everything would work out. That she was in the right path to get her emotions under control. But now he was standing in her office, whispering in her ear that surely a friend wouldn't have… _No_, she refused to follow that train of thought. Everything was over and done with and the conclusion she had reached was concrete and supported by two-year's-worth of evidence.

"Just wanted to know if being away from me for a week made you miss your favorite FBI agent, Bones." He flashed a smile at her again and she found herself slightly smiling back.

"Considering your presence here always suggests another set of unidentified remains found every time, and that I strongly dislike such occurrences, I would say that no, Booth I haven't missed you." She congratulated herself on logically presenting her argument but the feeling of triumph deserted her when she saw Booth's frowning expression as he approached her and stood right in front of her.

"I didn't ask whether you missed the cases, I asked whether you missed _me_." His eyes were serious and for several moments Temperance found herself unable to look away from him. Struggling not to stay where she was and tell him what he wanted to know, as she would have done a week ago, she turned away from him and walked behind her desk.

"Of course I missed you. You're my partner. It is proved that people get used to a certain event after twenty-one days of continuity, during which while-" Realizing she was rambling she summoned her best 'easy smile' to lighten the air between them. "Never mind. Yes, I've missed you. I'm your friend why wouldn't I have?"

The statement rolled off her tongue so easily, even as she felt the pain inside her escalating. She felt Booth watching her closely, but ignored him for a moment trying to understand the reason she felt as if she was playing a role for the first time in her life. What she felt inside was hidden behind a façade of nonchalance, just so she could hide her desires, her wilted hopes in front of a man she now knew was her friend.

Why was she doing this?

She had always prided herself on being honest, and Booth on occasion accused her of being blunt as well. Why was she lying to someone that by all accounts was her friend and she trusted above all others?

The answer was quite simple and came as she stared into his watching eyes. She lied because she had no choice. If he knew, he'd leave her because he wouldn't want to give what she asked from him. She had to hide, she had to lie; it was clear that this whole act was as important as air to her, for if she let herself go he'd leave.

Temperance watched his eyes searching her face, not knowing what he was looking for but averting her gaze nonetheless. When she heard him speak again, his voice was mild but sent chills down her spine at the same time. It was the voice he used in the interrogation room.

He was facing her office. "Hey, Bones? Where's Jasper?"

Cursing her luck that he would choose this moment to realize any differences, when she had finally succeeded in being calm she recalled the practiced excuse she had worked on earlier in the week. "I took him home one night by accident, so he's probably somewhere in my living room." Knowing what the little toy represented for them she wasn't surprised to see Booth's head snapping towards her at her trivial reply.

"Yeah?" His brows furrowed. "Anyway, I thought I'd come by to take you out to dinner. Are you busy?" He asked slowly raising an eyebrow and she knew he had some suspicion of something being different.

"No, nothing that can't wait for tomorrow." She smiled in what she hoped was reassurance.

"Great. Let's get out of here."

She paused only to grab her purse and coat and followed him out of the lab, steeling herself for an evening of role-playing. And by doing that she completely missed the apprehensive look that passed between Booth and Angela.

* * *

The evening turned out normal, Booth thought, as he watched Bones disappearing behind her building's front door. 

Except it had all been fake.

Sighing in frustration he ran through the past couple of hours in his mind, mentally pointing out the continuous smiles she gave him, the ever cheery voice she talked to him with, her silence every time they broached a more delicate subject that until now would have been talked about like her father's trial.

_Damn_!

Letting his head fall back he closed his eyes realizing that Angela had been correct. Something was wrong with Bones. _No, scratch that!_ Something was wrong between them! He ran his hands blindly over the steering wheel trying to remember the last time Bones had hidden things from him, or hadn't trusted him. He went back a couple of months ago…then a year…a year and a half.

_Oh, God._ She hadn't had that look on her face since they first started working together. Back when she didn't trust him at all.

Feeling anger pulling at his muscles he punched the center of the steering wheel.

"What happened?" he wondered out loud not bothering to question his intense feelings. Bones was drifting away from him and it had taken him several days to notice according to Angela. He didn't care about his decision to put his feelings aside. Right now he felt betrayed by her.

What was so wrong that would cause her to lock herself away from him like that? Had he done something? He tried to think back on their last case, and remembered that it had ended with both of them in the diner, laughing and being comfortable with each other; proud to have caught another murderer. Sure before they came this close this behavior would seem normal. But now…He felt as if tonight she had left him out in the cold.

They were partners…friends. She was his _best_ friend. They should talk to each other about things; go through things together.

He lowered his head to the wheel.

Damn it, they should _be_ together. Period.

Sighing loudly he raised his head and turned the key in the ignition. Before he put his foot on the gas he finally admitted to himself what he knew was inevitable for months now.

He was hers.

And now that she wanted to get away from him he wanted her to become his as well.

* * *

Noon of the next day found him in the diner expecting Angela to arrive, while he pushed the cup of coffee in front of him around in its saucer. 

He had stayed up all night thinking of his late night admission to himself. When dawn had come he was unable to remember why he had waited all this time to come clean. But then he knew the answer to that.

During all those months while he and Bones came closer each day he was aware that the feelings he was having weren't sneaking up on him…he knew the seed between them had been planted from the moment they had first met. And these years they'd been working together the feelings for her grew inside him, not changing in their foundation though.

That's why he waited. Because he knew that the moment he would let those feelings surface he would be lost for the rest of his days. Given. Done for. Hers.

He had known it was inevitable, so he had been passing the time, suppressing the feelings until he could see she was ready. Until he knew her better than anyone else. Until he could see in her eyes emotions mirroring his own. Emotion carefully hidden but always ready…always there. And he'd been seeing that in her eyes, as much as he wanted to disregard it, for the past year at least. But he had not been ready. He hoped to God he hadn't lost his chance.

"Hey, handsome."

Angela's greeting brought him back to reality and he glanced up to smile at her half-heartedly. This was the first step he had to take. "Hey, Ange."

"That bad, huh?" She smiled sympathetically.

"Yeah…and no."

"How did it go last night?" She motioned to the waitress for a cup of coffee and settled on the edge of her seat, waiting for him to tell her. _Boy would he ever_.

"You were right. Something's wrong. Very, very wrong. We went to dinner, and we were laughing and talking."

"What's wrong with that-"

"Her eyes were lying. _She_ was lying. I could see that a mile away. She's shut me out." He explained desperately, waiting for some kind of denial from the artist.

She sighed, reaching over to pat his hand. "Yeah, that's what I figured." Seeing his eyes flash with desperation and lower, Angela hurried along. "But we can fix it, Booth. That's why I called you in the first place. She's been acting as she did before you two started working together, that's why I knew something was wrong."

"Yeah, but why? Why is she pushing me away?" He hated the anger and hurt that tinged his voice.

"Booth, remember how I asked you for honest answers?" At his nod she continued. "Good, I want one now. Why does this bother you so much?"

Looking into Angela's face, Booth took a deep breath and proceeded taking the first step he had known was inevitable. "I want her, Ange." God, if that was true. Every time they had been close to each other, he had to play with the poker chip in his pocket to keep his hands from reaching out and touching her. Different parts of her, all of her; it didn't matter. He just wanted to touch. At the smug, self-satisfied smile that met his statement though, he smirked ruefully.

"That's all?" she asked. "All this time of torturing us poor observers for just that little piece of information?"

Palming his forehead he shook his head. He knew he wouldn't be let off the hook that easily with this woman. "Fine, Ms. Smartass. I'm in love. With Bones. The forever and ever and blah blah blah kind, okay?"

"Excellent." The smile that he was treated with now was a full blown one of delight. "Now, Sir Knight, what are we going to do about the princess in the tower?"

"You're kidding? I have no idea! I thought you'd have a plan, or something."

"As a matter of fact I do, but I think it would be best if we discussed the best course of action in this one."

True, it was his life they would be playing with, so she had a point. "Shoot."

"Okay, here's what I thought…"

* * *

**A.N. 2: Thanks to everyone for your wonderful reviews and encouragement. I hope I haven't disappointed you with the characterization in this chapter either. I know we all love a clueless Booth, but I can't help but believe he does know what's between them and in this chapter I gave a reason why he wouldn't have acted on his feelings all this time. Hope you liked it and if not, tell me what's wrong.  
**


	4. Case

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, Fox does. I'd probably have Booth tongue-kissing the maid of honor immediately upon suggestion if I did own it though.**

* * *

It was two days after the dinner that Temperance saw Booth again and even that amount of time seemed too soon for her, though two weeks ago it would have appeared like forever. 

She was standing over a set off remains supposedly belonging to a World War Two soldier, when she noticed a relative hush had spread on the platform. When she finally raised her head, Angela was nowhere to be found, and Hodgins as well as Zack weren't in their usual places. The guard was in his place thankfully; otherwise she thought she would have been extremely worried. All around the platform and outside the glass doors of the lab, people seemed to be roaming freely as well.

Then where was everyone?

She tried to peer at their offices' doors but couldn't see anything from where she stood and that's when she too a step back.

"Hey, Bones." Booth's low voice sounded very close behind her, and she tensed, first from being startled and then because of the tone of his voice. One she hadn't heard from him in the years they had been working together.

Steeling herself against his presence, and running the resolutions she had made one by one in her mind in a list, she turned and faced him. The first things she noticed was the proximity of their bodies, which was closer than she had imagined at first. What her brain processed next was that he didn't step back as he usually did, but rather stood there, looking at her intently.

She swallowed her nervousness and forced her voice to remain calm. "Hey, Booth. Anything wrong?"

Immediately a patent 'charm smile' made its appearance. "Nah, nothing wrong. Just wanted to talk to you about something I had in mind."

"Oh?" she offered, succeeding in sounding mostly uninterested.

"Yeah. Can we go to your office?"

"Of course." She led the way and proceeded sitting behind her desk, ignoring the voice in her head that accused her of weakness. "Well?" She watched as he walked around the desk and perched himself on the edge, his legs stretching out next to hers, almost touching.

"See, I've been wondering, Bones. The past several days it kinda seems that you've been…avoiding me." He had started in a casual voice, but then the last two words were focused and aimed carefully at her, she could see it in his eyes.

"What do you mean, Booth? I was just busy with the skeleton currently laying on the table just outside." She evaded, gesturing absently as she had read she had to in that article about body language. Why she had read that article she had no idea at the time, but apparently it was useful after all.

"Oh, really? Because as far as Hodgins and even Zack told me, you were bored out of your minds until this skeleton arrived, _yesterday_."

_Damn him!_ She should have known better than to think she could have lied without him knowing. He was in full interrogation mode now. "You talked to Zack? You don't ignore him anymore as a form of male bonding?" She tried changing the subject, but knew she had failed when a smirk appeared in his face.

"Nah, no male bonding. So tell me, Bones, why have we seen each other only twice in the past couple of weeks?"

Something about that question put in those exact words had her furrowing her brows. Nevertheless, she stuck to her plan. "I had a lot of paperwork, Booth. Anyway, what's so wrong about us not meeting every day? We didn't have a case," she pointed out, finding her argument completely logical and giving herself a mental pat on the back.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong, Bones. We do have a case now." He smiled once again, but something in that smile made her frown in response.

"We have a body? Let me get my coat and call Zack." She started sitting up, when he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down on the chair. Backing away from his hands, she scowled when he followed her movement and leaned closer to her, crouching in front of her. She cursed at the traitorous sensations he caused in her, her scowl deepening.

"No body, Bones. But we do have a case. And that's what I do. Solve cases. With your help of course. So, believe me when I say I will solve this one as well." Now deadly serious his eyes looked deeply in her own and she was afraid that he could see everything she'd been suppressing as well as everything she'd planned.

Without another word, he nodded and quickly walked out, leaving her staring after him.

This was definitely not good.

* * *

That evening when she left the Jeffersonian, a light drizzle had begun falling and the cold air around her announced the arrival of winter. It was about time, she thought to herself. She really enjoyed winter more than any other season, even as harsh as it came in D.C. The reason was simple enough and as always perfectly logical. When she was cold she could always pile up the sweaters and blankets to get warm, but in the summer one could only do so much to cool off. 

There was another reason that she liked winter better though. One less rational but very good one in its own right. In winter she always felt less alone –with the exclusion of Christmas. Everyone remained home at night and between her work and her writing she had little time to think about being lonely while other went on vacation to exotic places with their loved ones. Plus the pressure of having fun wasn't that big. Not that she didn't like having fun…but generally that meant that she had to interact socially with strangers, which she wasn't very good at.

Driving through the streets towards her apartment she thought of the awkward visit Booth had paid her earlier in the day and couldn't suppress a heavy sigh. Now that the thought was in his mind she knew it wouldn't be long until he reached a conclusion, whether that was true or false. He was good at solving cases in his own words. But then so was she, and although she wasn't very good at lying she knew she had to make him reach the wrong conclusion about their case. Since actual facts and evidence weren't applicable in this situation, she decided then and there that she would stick with her original conclusion. Booth would never know about her feelings. For the first time in her life she chose to cover up the truth.

By the time she reached her floor a delicious smell enticed her nose. Someone was cooking. As she approached her door the smell got stronger and she realized it was coming from her own apartment. Senses fully alert, she pushed carefully the key in and twisted, pushing the door back a few inches. What she saw made her gape in surprise.

Booth was humming a tune while carrying plates filled with steaming food from the kitchen to the coffee table set for two.

He straightened up and caught sight of her, a grin splitting his lips. She was still standing in the doorway when he approached her and pulled her gently inside, closing the door behind her. "Hey, you're right on time."

"What are you doing here?" She frowned, anger boiling beneath the surface, ready to explode. How dared he invade her house…her head. Why now?

Bringing his hand up he smoothed the creases between her brows with his thumb. "You do that a lot lately." His smile softened a second later and she stiffened as he bent his head to near her neck. "You smell nice," he stated, as if what he had just done was a natural occurrence between them and straightened to look at her again.

Her mind was in overload. Her fists clenched tightly in anger and _not_ as a tiny voice whispered in her head, as a precaution in case she wanted to touch him. "I smell like the lab," she blurted and hated herself the minute the words left her mouth. Was that all she could think of as an answer?

"Nope, you always smell nice, even when you haven't been in the lab." He grinned at her again, stepping back.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated, this time satisfied at the amount of annoyance in her voice.

"You're very welcome for the dinner, Bones. It wasn't much, really. I just threw in whatever was there and see? It came out okay. _Of course_ I know you owe me, being tired and all. But that's what partners are for," he went on taking her bag from her hands and helping her out of her coat. "Now sit down, while I get us some beer."

Numbly she made her way to the couch and sat down slowly. What was she doing? Why was she letting him take over her apartment and do as he pleased in the one place she had found sanctuary in the past few days? This was getting completely out of hand and if she let him she knew he'd take over her life as well. This shouldn't be happening. Everything she had done should have prevented this.

_Not if he just figured it out._

The realization hurt and refueled her anger. She had been right of course. He didn't care for her as she did for him, otherwise he would have noticed sooner, and now he was trying to make amend. To go back to how things were. Well, he was wrong there. There was no going back to the way they were. No casual calls for no reason, no lunches just to talk and certainly no insinuating situations between the two of them. And this right now was definitely one of the latter. She had to gain back the control she had lost over her life and that meant showing Booth what his place was in it.

She watched as he walked back in the room and offered her an opened bottle of beer. She waited until he sat beside her and when he was right next to her –a little too close for comfort- she casually shifter putting some space between them.

"What's wrong?" came his immediate retort to her moving away, and she knew the serious look on his face meant he was asking more than why she had shifted in her seat.

"Thank you for the dinner, but I fail to see why you had to do this." She stated as simply a she could, deciding on honesty at least as far as her intentions went.

His expression turned into one of confusion. "What do you mean, Bones? We've done this in the past."

"Actually we haven't. That is, you have never before broken in to my apartment and prepared dinner. You always came by with dinner when I was already home, and most of the times you called first." There, the facts were spoken out loud and she knew what she meant hadn't gone unnoticed. The flash of hurt gave her brief pause but she quickly assured herself that Angela would be confused and maybe a little hurt in such a situation as well.

"Ok, first of all, I didn't break in, I used the key _you_ have given me," he pointed out, setting his beer on the table and turning to face her fully. "Now, what's this?" he asked pointing downwards in the space between them.

"Excuse me?" she pretended not to understand his question, although she knew quite well what was coming. So, she had to prepare herself of what she was going to say.

His voice was laced with impatience and worry. "You know what I mean, Bones. What's wrong with you? Why have you been avoiding me all this time, and now that I want to have a friendly dinner and make amends for whatever I may have done or not done, you give me the cold shoulder."

"I don't know what that means."

"Yeah, but you get the rest of it, don't you? Now will you tell me what it is that I did or something?" He spread his arms in a gesture that she interpreted as invitation to tell him what she had in mind.

She didn't disappoint, at least not in that department. She turned her eyes on him and spoke calmly. "Many times you have told me how there are lines that shouldn't be crossed, people we shouldn't allow to become more than they should because there's a lot to lose." She forced a mild smile on her lips, so that the next words didn't sound accusing, but rather a friendly warning to keep out. "You were right…so that's why I have been uncomfortable. I feel as if all this," She gestured towards the plates on the table. "Goes a bit further than our friendship dictates that it should. So I've kept my distance to reestablish that relationship to what it was." She finished her little speech, letting out a long breath.

There she had done it. Now Booth would probably make a joke filled with false innuendo, and they'd proceed eating. Everything would be back to normal and they'd be friends again…why did that still hurt then, damn it?! She took a swig of her beer and finally turned to face the new reality that was between them, only to be faced with a different sight than what she had expected.

Booth's body was rigid with what she had come to know was anger, and unidentifiable emotions swirled in his eyes as he stared back at her. "Really, Bones? So, I should make sure I don't step out of line and be a good boy by being your friend and partner, so you can dedicate your books to me?" His voice was low and strangely rough.

"I thought you wanted to be my friend," she forced out calmly, but internally panicking at the thought that maybe she had ruined their friendship as well.

"Oh, I am your friend. But just bear with me for a moment here." He cadence of his voice rose as he stood up and started pacing, the food sitting cold and forgotten on the table between them. "What you meant with your little declaration was…" He talked over her protest that he was being condescending. "…was that you see me exactly as you see Hodgins, who is one of your friends after all, right? Hmm, interesting theory right there. However there's one small glitch, Bones. You expect me to accept your wishes like everyone else has done before, even if I know perfectly well that everything you just said is crap."

She stood up, hating that all this time he had been looming over her, even across the small table, and faced his intense glare head on. Who did he think he was looking at her as if he had a right to be angry? "_Crap_? Everything I just said was what _you_ have told me in the past. Lines that _you_ drew, limits _you_ have set. If I _want_ to uphold the decisions we both agreed on, and you currently don't, it's your fault not mine. You made up your mind and now so have I," she shouted in frustration and walked to the door opening it. "Now, please go home and we'll talk tomorrow when our we can think rationally."

His eyes narrowed on her face, and slowly, extremely slowly he stalked towards her, stopping just before their bodies touched. "I haven't been thinking rationally since you started this and until you stop acting this way I don't plan to."

"If you can't understand that my actions tonight will salvage our friendship then I can't change your mind," she replied stubbornly.

"You're not trying to save our friendship, you want to prevent something more," he gritted out.

She snorted at his implication, but the voices in her head screamed for her to question him about it. "You've been making it quite obvious that our friendship is all there is, so I fail to see your point."

"I've known what I wanted since day one." His scowl deepened when she snorted again and for a moment he reminded her of a very intense animal ready to pounce angrily on its prey. "You expect me to run along and do what you say like everyone else, don't you, Bones?" She inhaled sharply when his right hand came up to palm the side of her neck and his mouth lowered, just a breath away from hers. She could feel his lips moving on hers as he spoke. "Well, guess what? I don't run."

And with that he abruptly released her and was gone.

She closed the door slowly and stared off in the living room, seeing nothing. It was one of the few moments in Temperance Brennan's life when her mind had trouble adjusting and interpreting the facts.

* * *

As Booth got in his car, slamming the door in frustration he took out the phone from his pocket and dialed. 

"What are you doing calling me so early?" came the voice from the end of the line.

"The slow approach didn't work, Ange. We ended up getting it out in the open and fighting…and this time it wasn't the harmless kind."

"So…what?"

"I don't know." He scowled, looking up at her floor. "I have to hope that I haven't lost her, because if I have…"

"I know, honey. What did she tell you?"

He let out an audible sigh. "What I understood is that I've messed this up by waiting and now she wants to be my _friend_," he emphasized the last word with a note of disgust.

"So, you'll give up?"

"What? Of course not.Will you help?"

"With all my powers, Booth. What did you have in mind?"

* * *

**A.N. : I'm not terribly happy with how this chapter turned out but I think they had to get it in the open so the story would go on from there. You know, declaring open war and so on. What do you think? Too slow? Characters not making sense? Feel free to rant...LOL**


	5. Evidence

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones. Fox does. I'm fairly certain that the show would have turned into a soap if I did own Bones, though...LOL**

**AN: I know this is chapter should have been posted a few days ago but my muse went away for a few days, but finally she's back. I hope you like what she gave me.  
**

* * *

The day after their fight, his resolve firmly in place, Booth strode in the Medico-Legal lab, ready to face their problems head on, with a fight if necessary.

Around him people ran around, geared up for whatever squinty reason they had to rush. He paused, looking up, to watch the Squint Squad walking around on the platform. In a short two and a half years they had changed his perceptions of scientists meddling with murder cases, while sneaking their way into his good graces. Hell, who was he kidding? These people were his friends, no matter what they had started as.

Swiping his card, he ascended the steps and noticed that Bones wasn't anywhere around at the moment. Taking advantage of her absence, he decided that he would decipher where everyone's loyalties lay on the matter. He really needed allies and as it was the more he got on his side, the better.

"Hey, G-man! Case?" came Hodgins' voice as soon as Booth was within his line of sight.

"Nah, just checking on you guys."

"Checking implies there is something to look at, watch, and here there's nothing," Zack said with a sigh, passing by quietly. Since the young doctor had come back from Iraq, Booth had felt the change inside him. Zack had seen more that he should have, and that terrible kinship Booth felt every time he looked at him made him wish that he had advised Zack not to go back at the wedding. Maybe it had been something he had to go through, mused Booth, but even so the innocence that Zack gave off before was now absent.

"That bad, doc?" Booth asked Zack, using the latest nickname for the young man. It just didn't feel right to ignore him anymore.

"And it gets even worse. Archaeology is sending us an Aztec, people." Cam called out walking up to the platform. Hodgins and Zack groaned simultaneously.

"Oh, for the love of God, please tell me it's at least a ritual victim," Angela called out from her office, having heard the news.

"We all wish!" muttered Cam, smiling at Booth.

"How's it going, Seeley?"

"Fine, fine." He looked around waiting for Bones to make her appearance any moment, but her office door was firmly closed. "Is she in there?" he asked Hodgins, nodding towards the door.

"Yeah. Probably since you walked in through our shiny, sliding doors." Booth's scowl caused the shorter man to lose his teasing smile and clear his throat. "I heard from Angela, man. I'm sorry."

A wave of irritation washed over Booth at those words. "It's not over yet, bug-boy. The outcome of the battle is yet to be decided."

"What battle?" asked Cam, looking between the two men and Brennan's door. "Do I even want to know?"

Taking a deep breath Booth looked over at Cam and decided it was time to see whether in case he won Bones over, he'd have trouble from her boss. "Bones and I had a fight last night."

"And that's news, why?"

"No, Cam. Bones and I had a fight about us."

Cam's expression grew more perplexed. "What? Me and you? Doesn't she know we broke up?" A slight hint of regret passed over her features, but otherwise the pathologist's face was open and friendly, which made Booth's next words come out easier.

"We fought about our relationship, Cam. Not mine and yours. Hers and mine. _Ours_," he emphasized each party by pointing towards himself and Cam and in Brennan's case her door.

The pathologist looked around the lab at each person separately and then lastly at Booth who was looking like a lost puppy, staring at the closed door of Brennan's office. "What the…?" she trailed off when Booth looked up at her again. To Booth's great irritation she started smiling a full-blown if somewhat smug smile. "How the mighty have fallen."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

In reply Cam just slipped on a pair of latex gloves and sucked in a breath shaking her head at him sympathetically. "You got it bad, Seeley. Should have seen it coming."

"I kinda did," he muttered under his breath, yet he knew the squints had heard him.

A few low snorts confirmed that, and Hodgins raised his head from a microscope to smile at Angela. "When you see the eighteen-wheeler coming all you can do is brace yourself, baby."

"And then pick up the pieces?" Booth offered, wondering how on earth it came down to this conversation between him and the squints. Bones. Right. Sighing he turned around and walked down to Bones' office. He knew everyone was staring at him as he paused in front of the closed door to take a deep breath. Looking back he raised his eyebrows and smirked ruefully at Hodgins' thumbs up.

Turning back around towards the glass door, his hand on the handle, he found himself face to face with Bones, his eyes meeting her angry stare. "Do we have a case?" He heard her muffled voice through the glass and shook his head in reply, all the previously gone determination, rushing back to the forefront of his mind. He would make her see this as she once did. He would get her back, even if it killed them to get to that point.

She turned around, showing her back to him in clear dismissal, but he wasn't done with this. Jerking the door open he walked inside her office, watching as she put distance between them again, and sat behind her desk. "I told you, I don't run and I won't let your run from this either."

"There is nothing to run from." Her voice was calm again, infuriatingly so, and he felt his anger bubbling up to the surface.

"There isn't? So we're not friends or partners, huh?" He kept his voice low, and the silent warning in it, made her eyes leave the screen they'd been glued on for the past minutes and focus on him instead.

"Of course we are. In case you didn't hear me last night I was not running from it but trying to save it." The wariness he saw in her face when she spoke of the fight they had the previous evening boosted his confidence enough to go on.

"Friends, yeah. So there's nothing else in _this_ is there?" He pointed in the space between them and casually walked towards her, until she stood, clearly not wanting him to have an advantage over her.

"I'm tired of repeating myself, Booth. If you have nothing else to tell me, I have an appointment with…Dr. Harris!" She looked over his shoulder at the doorway, and Booth turned his head to watch as a man in his mid-thirties walked in the office.

"Am I interrupting, Dr. Brennan? I'm sure I must be a little early. I must admit I couldn't wait for our meeting to begin." The blonde-haired doctor smiled suavely at Bones and Booth gritted his teeth both at the interruption and at the man. Angrily he observed that the scientist was good-looking…and the smile he saw on Bones' face as he turned towards her didn't help his anger at all.

"No, Dr. Harris. I'll be with you in a minute. Let me walk my partner outside. This is Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI, Booth this is Dr. Harris by the way."

Booth ignored the man's proffered hand and just nodded curtly in his direction as he followed Bones just outside the glass doors. His mind still on the subject they were discussing, he stepped in front of her when she turned to face him. "Who is that?"

"That's the Head of Archaeology, Booth. Now if you'll excuse me, Dr. Harris and I have much more important matters to discuss."

Placing a hand on her waist he prevented her escape and lowered his head to whisper in her ear, anger and jealousy burning a hole in his stomach. "There's nothing more important than this and you know it. I know you do."

"Don't touch me." The threat she whispered furiously back, instead of making him release her, only ended up making him place his other hand to her waist as well. She stood rigidly in his arms, but not in anger. He could feel her breath coming out in shallow puffs on his shoulder.

Lowering his voice, he let his lips touch the skin of her cheek fleetingly as he spoke. "See what _this_ is, Bones? It's not just friendship. It's me and you. Since you like running, I'll chase you, but know this. I _will_ catch you."

When he raised his head to look at her, her eyes were closed. Not being able to resist the temptation he lowered his mouth to hers and nibbled slowly on her bottom lip until he felt her respond to him. The moment her lips parted, he stroked them with his tongue, getting lost in feeling her kiss for the first time. Struggling to tame his senses, he brought one of his hands to the side of her face and held on to her, deepening the kiss. He couldn't let go of her. Not now or ever again. Not after this.

When her tongue slipped between his lips to meet his, he fought for his control but knew he'd be lost if they continued this. Getting ready to end the kiss, a thought slipped in his mind, and he turned her with her back facing her office, still kissing her. He tightened his arms around her and opened his eyes to glare at the gaping man through the glass doors. His point made he closed his eyes again and savored the kiss once again for a few moments before breaking away from her and resting his forehead on hers.

They were both panting as he took a few moments to stare at her flushed face, her lips swollen from his kiss, her eyes still closed. Running his thumb over her mouth, he watched as her lids flipped open in realization of what just happened. Tightening the hand on her waist he looked straight at her, whispering his challenge. "Why don't you run some more then?"

He let her go tight as she stepped back from him and turned to stomped angrily back to her office. Booth could see she was flustered when she tried to explain to Dr. Harris, but he smiled fully in what felt like days when the man just glanced uncomfortably towards him and then sat in a chair, his posture and expression fully professional. Turning around he walked towards the exit, finally knowing that he hadn't lost her. She was still within reach, and he would make sure that no matter how much she ran he would end up catching her.

"That's it! Stake your claim, G-man!" "Hodgins called out from the platform and Booth turned to see the Squint Squad smiling at him.

Knowing that they had witnessed the whole thing, he smiled back happily shaking his head at them. "Lay off the Discovery Channel for a while, why don't ya?" he teased good-naturedly, laughing on his way out.

Everything would be fine…he just knew it.

* * *

**AN2: Hopefully this didn't disappoint any of you. I should also warn this is NOT the end of the angst in this story. Let's call it a small time-out, because I'm fairly certain that Bones does not give up so easily on her decisions and of course she can't let go of what she has been through waiting for him. He was a clueless twit, you know? lol**


	6. Confrontation

**Disclaimer: I do not own** **Bones. Fox does. I'm tired of saying so, as I think it's fairly obvious. No one has turned into a superhero, right?  
**

**AN1: Okay, guys! On with the show and as I promised...well let's just say you should be prepared.  
**

* * *

"If there isn't some sort of lung fungus leak in my apartment then I fail to see the point of you being here." Booth sighed in exasperation, but nonetheless stepped aside so that the squints filed one by one inside his house, led by Angela and Cam. The latter led them to the living room and they all sat down wherever they could as he stood facing them with his arms folded on his chest.

He was really not in the mood for company since the last couple of days had passed with him trying to call or meet with Bones, and her avoiding him like the black plague. He had been sure that after he had kissed her that everything would be fine, but after two days of calling and trying to see her without success the hope was starting to fade.

"We, squints extraordinaire, have decided that you, hard-ass G-man, need our help." Hodgins replied smugly, stretching his arms on the back of the sofa between Angela and Cam. Seconds later the arm behind Cam recoiled after a look from the entomologist's girlfriend.

"Okay, now this officially feels like the Twilight Zone," Booth muttered under his breath, even as he sat down on the armrest nearest to him.

"Apparently you _do_ need help, you know," Zach stated from the armchair opposite Booth's.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, doc." Running a hand over his face in frustration, he exhaled slowly and looked over at Angela, the apparent mastermind behind all this.

"So what kind of help do all of you geniuses think I need?"

"Snappy! No matter, I can work with that too. You see, Booth, while I thought at first that my help is all you needed, I was wrong. After the last little show you put for us –and Dr. Harris of course- the results haven't exactly been ideal. So, here we are and I think we have the solution."

"And that would be…?"

"Well, even if some of us," Angela started with a pointed look towards the males of the team, "don't put much stock in psychology, we have all agreed on one thing. However inspired your move was two days ago, it didn't help your case at all, honey. It just made it worse."

"I must admit it, Seeley. I have never seen Dr. Brennan like that, and that includes my first days in the Jeffersonian when she didn't even like me." Cam added to Angela's comment and Booth winced. He had figured as much on his own, but refused to believe that the kiss they had shared, the mind-blowing once-in-a-lifetime experience first kiss, was a mistake.

"She's turned into Queen Bitch, dude," Hodgins smiled apologetically at Booth's glare, but didn't take it back. Maybe the timing of the kiss was wrong, Booth conceded, after hearing no protests on the title Hodgins had just given Bones.

"Okay, let's get to the help part of the whole thing. That's why you're here for at eleven am right?" Booth asked impatiently.

"Yeah, that's one reason. The other is that Bren hasn't let us leave the lab earlier than ten in the last two days." Angela sighed seriously as Booth looked over at Cam.

"She didn't let you? I thought you were the boss!" he exclaimed, chuckling slightly and then turning it into a cough, so as not to offend Cam.

Thankfully, even if she noticed, she ignored him and replied, "I'm the boss, but when an _esteemed colleague,_" she emphasized the words and Booth knew that she was quoting Bones, "advises me that the findings, test results and whatnot are extremely significant to the work we do at the Jeffersonian, then I can't but agree with her. At least a couple of times. The point is, Seeley, you had better resolve this today, because if she continues to behave in the same manner I _will_ have to take action." The tone of Cam's voice assured Booth that she would follow with her promise if nothing changed.

Hating the fact that not only his and Bones' personal life, but also her career depended on whether they could get through this, he hung his head on his chest, a newly manifested kind of desperation gripping him. He had no idea whether he was capable to manage reconciliation all on his own. Maybe the squints were there for a reason after all.

Raising his head he looked at each one in turn and then sighed. "Okay, what do you think went wrong?"

"Well, that's what we thought of at first. It was all Cam and I of course, because the men are useless in this sort of thing." She stopped to glare at Zach and Hodgins.

"Psychology is a soft science," protested Zach, from his seat.

"Yeah, and we're nothing but hard, baby. Hard-core scientists," Hodgins added, but stopped when once again Booth glared his way.

"The next time you use the word 'hard' referring to yourself while I'm in the room, I'll shoot you." Booth stared at Jack for a moment longer to make sure he had made his point and the turned to the man's girlfriend. "Go on, Angela."

"Thank you. So, after some observing we think we've got it figured out and as her best friend I really think that's what Bren would do. I think she knew, Booth. All this time, while we all thought that she didn't see what was between you, I think she just bid her time until you reciprocated."

"No, Angela. No way. Bones is blunt if anything else. She would have said so the moment she felt something different."

"She would have said or _showed_, Booth. Think! She's been closed off to everyone around her all her life and in two-years-time she has let every one of us in, she talks about her feelings, hugs me randomly. What else is there? Her sole focus was her science, and now it's her life."

Booth felt uncomfortable, grasping Angela's meaning. "Wow, Ange! I don't think I can take credit for that…besides it's been an emotional couple of years for her, and no matter if I was there or not, finding out about her family would probably have shaken her."

"That's crap and you know it." The tone of the artist's voice made his head snap up incredulously. "She wouldn't have found out anything about her parents if she hadn't trusted _you_ to look over their file. She opened up to you first. She had feelings for you back then, Booth. That's my point. She wanted you back then and you didn't."

"That's not true…entirely," he added in the end when Angela raised her brow in challenge. "I wanted her, Ange. I just…thought it would be best if we kept it professional at that point."

"Crap session, number two." Seeing now four incredulous faces looking back at her, Angela went in for the kill. "You were afraid, weren't you? If I could see what was between you from the very first case, then I bet you knew it as well."

Booth stared silently back at her, not wanting to admit anything, but turning his eyes to Cam, he knew he had to explain this somehow or else Cam would think he had used her…and to some degree, he admitted to himself that he had. "Look, I knew Bones was different to me from the beginning and fine, I didn't want to deal with the whole thing…I just wasn't ready for her yet," he explained, trying to make Cam understand that he hadn't hurt her, at least not on purpose.

"That's understandable." Cam nodded in acceptance and Booth breathed a sigh of relief. "But, Seeley that's our point. She was ready and she waited until you were as well."

As his brain processed the words, Booth got up and started pacing. "No way. Bones is really slow on the uptake as far as feelings go," he denied, shaking his head.

"How else can you explain what's been happening, Booth?"

"Can I…?" Zach asked hesitantly and at Booth's nod he offered his two cents. "What Dr. Saroyan and Angela said is highly probable, which could very well explain the current situation. The procedure Dr. Brennan would follow in case she already consciously had feelings for you despite your awareness or lack thereof would be simple. She might have waited at first but then at some point her mind would start processing the data she has already been given: in this case your friendly conversation etc. Therefore, she'd reach the conclusion that you were just friends. Any feelings she may still have after that, she will try to disregard as they are unwanted variables at this point."

"What the…? Did he just make sense to everyone else too?" Booth stood gaping at the young doctor but quickly recovered. "Great, now I'm taking personal advise from the doc."

"We all happen to agree, man. It makes sense."

Frustrated Booth resumed pacing after Hodgins' statement considering the possibility the squints presented him with. Could it be that Bones all this time stood on the side and watched him having affairs and relationships even though she hurt? No, Bones wasn't like that. She was blunt and honest. She'd say so if she wanted him. He just had to convince her that they should be together.

"So, what's your advice? What do you think I should do?" Booth asked, intent on doing the exact opposite from what they told him. What Zach said might have made some sense, but he really thought the best way to deal with Bones' silence right now would be to get back to being offensive.

* * *

It was just after midnight when Temperance heard a knock on her door. Instantly knowing who it was, she cursed the low notes coming out of the speakers in her living room. She didn't want to talk to Booth, not now, or anytime soon. After he had kissed her in the lab she had thought long and hard about what happened. The anger still hadn't receded since she had reached her conclusion.

Booth wanted to get his way just by simply kissing her. Just one act to erase everything she had been through while hanging around waiting for him.

"Bones, I know you're in there. Please, just open the door so we can talk." The tone of his voice was so condescending her control snapped.

She stomped to the door and opened it forcefully, making Booth rock slightly forward on the balls of his feet. "I do not want to talk to you." She pronounced each word clearly, so that he knew she was serious about it.

He ignored her completely, smiled at her and walked into the apartment while she stood holding the door opened. "Yeah, that's gonna be a problem, Bones, 'cause we really need to talk. Not fight. Talk," he clarified and grabbed hold of the door and calmly closed it.

She refused to budge when he strode to the living room, choosing once again the safety of distance between them. Moments ticked by with neither of them speaking, as Temperance stood her ground and Booth paced thinking of a way to begin bridging the gap between them. Finally he stepped up to her and raised his hand to touch her, but stopped the motion when she flinched and moved away. Temperance's anger towards him increased tenfold. He was trying to get to her again but this time her strongest weapon against him were his own actions.

"Damn it, Bones! I'm not allowed to touch you now?" she heard him asked angrily and turned to face him mirroring his feelings.

"You're allowed to touch me as much as friends do. _That_ was not friendly." She pointed to his hand, but he took it in stride and approached her once again, invading her personal space.

"The kiss we shared the other day wasn't exactly friendly either. Or maybe I imagined that too, huh?" His voice was low and seductive now, and Temperance forced herself not to fall into his spell once again.

"What you did was wildly out of line –and those are your words if I remember correctly from one of our discussions." She mocked, smirking.

"No, Bones, what I did was a very appropriate thing to do for a man in lo-"

"Don't you dare say that word!" she interrupted angrily, stepping closer and poking her finger in front of his chest.

"What, afraid of feelings again? Are you going to run away?" he snapped at her, realizing the cruelty of his words even as they left his lips. He was opening his mouth again to apologize when after a flash of movement his head turned forcefully and felt a sharp sting on his cheek. Complete shock kept him in place, his hand rising to the spot she had slapped him.

Feeling the emotions she had carefully hidden, brimming to the surface Temperance felt no remorse of what she had done. Those words went over the top and she couldn't stand hiding the pain inside any longer.

"A man in love? You claim to be a man in love? You have no idea what the word means!" she said harshly and suddenly the words she never wanted to say left her mouth in a rush. "Being in love means giving without taking. It mean you have to let every day go by hiding what you feel because just maybe the one you love will feel the same. It means that you have to pretend not to hurt when they judge your every move. It means you change because you want to be what they need. That you have to stand by idly and pretend not to care when they chose someone else over you to care for. Do you know how that feels? Do you know how it feels to try to fill your life with someone else only to fail and fall back to the same person? How it feels when the person you call family thinks of you as a simple bystander in their life?" She felt the tears streaming down her face, but she continued staring unblinkingly at Booth's face, though not seeing his stricken expression. All that matter was her rage now; the hurtful and awful time she had spent in her own limbo. "So, don't you ever dare tell me you are in love. I finally know what love is…and I wish I didn't."

She turned around and walked blindly to her bedroom feeling drained and uncaring whether Booth would leave or not. She had nothing left to say, nothing left to feel and for the rest of that sleepless night, that was all that mattered to her.

* * *

Booth was left staring at the spot she had been standing only minutes before. The vice that had been gripping his chest since she slapped him was now becoming unbearable. His mind churned with what she had said, going over parts of it over and over again, torturing him with their truth. Numbly he turned around and left her apartment, his head hung low, shoulders sagged.

How had they ended up like this? Oh, God what had he done? Why had he waited so long to tell her everything? A coward. He had been a coward in the one thing he had always claimed he was a master of. His heart and feelings. He guessed this now proved that he was only good with other people's feelings and not his own, he thought grimly.

He had no recollection of walking to his car and as e closed the door mechanically, he briefly wondered how he got there. It all felt unreal. How had he crossed the street? Had he even glanced to see if it was safe? He shrugged uncaringly to himself. It didn't matter. Maybe if he got hit by a car the past hour would prove to be a nightmare and not reality.

The drive to his house was nothing but a blur of lights and noises. He begged God that this was nightmare, but the minute he walked in his front door he understood it was reality. It hurt so much for it not to be, too much. He tried to wrap his mind around the fact that he had probably lost her. He had lost Bones and it was all his fault.

Once again Seeley Booth had missed his chance at forever.

And he knew it in his soul that this time was the only time that would ever matter.

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**AN2: The angst is back and will not budge for a while methinks. Did I overdo it? I suppose I did, but as I'm an emotional person, I guess this is what I think Bones has been through. Yeah, Sully was a reprieve but still...I can't help but think that she knows exactly what's going on...and in my fic she took her revenge. LOL**


	7. Confession

**Ok, here's the latest addition to TFTW -especially for jerseybones and sarali1983 'cause your reviews make me grin like a fool . Hope you like what I've done with it, plus there's a question for you to answer when you finish reading. I admit this was slightly hard to write, but I hope it turned out well. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, Fox does. I _have_ started plotting DB's abduction but somehow I don't think it will help.**

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The steps that led Booth in the Jeffersonian three days later were heavy. Every inch of his body burned with the need to see her, but his heart ached at the thought. 

Yesterday he had stopped counting the beer bottles on his kitchen counter and he couldn't really remember a completely somber minute in the last few days. He hadn't gone to work drunk of course, but he had preferred a beer instead of eating lunch more than once and even replaced dinner with a couple of bottles last night. Not that it did any good but he refused to drink anything stronger. The slight blur in the edges of his awareness that beer brought to him was enough to chase away the guilt. It was like drinking too much coffee really.

He had avoided Cullen at all costs for the first day, but then the man had decided to announce to Booth that his paperwork time was over and soon he would be assigned any case that happened to come in. Booth's lack of focus didn't go unnoticed by his boss though, who offered him a few days off which Booth refused. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay in his house all day with nothing to think about or stare at and not think about Bones. Even thinking of her name caused a pang inside him, damn it.

Even so, every night when he turned off the light on his bedside, in case he could lure sleep to come to him, he failed. He always thought of her, ending up falling asleep at the crack of dawn only to wake up an hour later. At first the fall seemed endless. He thought there was nothing he could do to make everything right between them. The next day he couldn't stop thinking of ways to get her back but everything seemed too little, too late. Last night he had decided on what he should do.

Giving up had never been an option but now the only way he could think of getting her back was just a step higher than that as far as his ego went. He was ready to beg, do whatever he had to do to make her understand that they belonged together, that nothing was lost. At least he hoped so.

Walking through the sliding doors, he eyes the platform quickly, noting that Bones was nowhere in sight once again. Never pausing his stride he turned towards her office and finally spied her sitting behind her desk and talking on the phone. Knowing he was out of everyone's line of vision and more importantly hers, he took a few minutes to study her. Her body was straight and tense as a cord and her free hand was rubbing slow circles just above her brows. The conclusion that she wasn't any better than he was shouldn't have pleased him as much as it did, but he felt so nonetheless.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself and walked into her office, closing the door behind him. The moment her eyes shot up to his, her body tensed even more, and she straightened in her chair, her hand dropping from her head. Weariness and anger clouded her eyes as she quickly ended the phone conversation and turned to him.

"Is there a case?" she snapped, folding her arms in front of her in a defensive stance.

"No," he replied, quietly, stepping farther inside the office and sitting on the chair in front of her desk.

"I'm not talking about it anymore." She leaned back on her chair and regarded him.

"Yeah, you've said a lot last time, right?" The question came out without a trace of disdain, and he was glad for that. He didn't want her thinking that she had made a mistake in saying the things she had. No matter how much they still hurt him, those words needed to be said between them. His mistakes needed to be pointed out to him.

She turned her head away, hints of self-derision and impatience on her features. "I shouldn't have opened my mouth," she muttered and then turned to him in determination. "What I said…it doesn't matter, and really I'm fine with it now. I'd prefer if we just forgot about this whole thing and went back to working."

He met her stare evenly, weighing carefully his words before he opened his mouth. "Bones…you haven't listened to a word I said the past days, have you?" he asked gently. "Don't take what you said back…I feel it, too."

"Apparently, you're the one you wasn't listening," she retorted, a little bit of the anger he had seen three days ago returning in her eyes and he winced at that.

He stood up and circled the desk, turning her chair towards him when he was in front of her. Deciding this was his once chance to make it right, he went all out and kneeled in front of her chair keeping eye contact. "I did listen, and now it's your turn to listen, and listen good, okay?" He put his hands on either side of hair, not closing in so she wouldn't feel threatened. "I thought I had it worked out between us." He took a deep breath and plunged on. "That if I denied everything it would be okay and my excuse was that you weren't ready for what I wanted for us. And yeah…I underestimated you, and I'm really sorry for that. Even if somehow I felt I was doing something wrong, I just reasoned that you didn't feel that way for me so I wasn't hurting you." He watched as she swallowed and looked away. "But now I know I did, and it hurts me even more. I just hope I haven't completely messed up."

Her head lowered as she looked at her hands, now resting on her lap. "I don't know," she said quietly, and for the first time since their problems had started, he could hear the fear in her voice.

"Bones…just tell me we'll work it out," he pleaded, knowing he was just short of begging her and not caring in the slightest.

She looked up once again and searched his face, for what he didn't know. "What are you asking, Booth. For us to be friends again or…?"

"We're still friends, always, no matter what happens," he replied, certain his features conveyed his confidence in what he said. He searched his mind for the best way to say the next words. "Besides what you said the other day…loving is forgiving too, Temperance, and I know I've been wrong." He shook his head, impatient with himself, knowing his words weren't coming out right. "I know you were right in what you said, but I― I love you… and maybe that's more than enough to make everything alright. Just think about it, okay?" He let his eyes show how much he meant what he had just said, not caring whether his confession had come in a way he never had imagined, or whether she now could see the desperation in his eyes. He _was_ desperate for her to understand that if they loved each other and accepted it, they could make it work. He knew they could.

"What do you want me to say now?" she asked, seeming genuinely confused as she looked back at him.

"Nothing, but if you want to say something then how you feel right now would be a nice subject for conversation." He tried to lighten the mood with a small smile.

"Rationally…I shouldn't feel like this," she trailed off, looking uncertainly back at him.

"Like what?" he asked anxiously, knowing that her next words could be an end or a beginning.

"Afraid, uncertain, doubtful." His heart broke at the low-spoken words and it must have showed on his face because she reached out to touch him. Not wanting her compassion, he lowered his head, but her hand still found the side of his face. "I had reached a conclusion, Booth. I thought everything you did pointed out that you only wanted me as your friend, and I tried to repress everything and now…"

His eyes shot up to hers as the meaning of what was saying sunk in. She wasn't sending him away. "I know you're scared," he whispered locking gazes with her, hope igniting in his chest. "Hell, _I_ am scared, and I'm supposed to be good at this." He grabbed her chair and moved it closer to him. "Just say you'll work with me on this one, okay? We'll take it one thing at a time and we'll figure it out."

He waited for what seemed like hours, but probably was only a few seconds until she nodded with a small smile. He returned a full-blown grin, a nervous sigh leaving his lips, conveying both his elation and his nervousness. Reaching out he laid his hand on both of hers in reassurance.

"So how do we do this?" she asked, glancing down at their hands and then back up at him.

"Uhm…okay, what do you say right now we go some place we can talk about everything?" he asked nervously, having no idea what he was doing. He hadn't thought this far actually.

"We are talking right now," she pointed out with a small smirk, and he laughed thinking that this was the first glimpse of the 'old Bones' he had gotten in weeks.

"I mean talk about everything, Bones. You know, from this point on," he replied now in a serious tone, but rubbed his thumb across her knuckles, letting her know that it wasn't a bad thing.

"Okay." Her lips curled in a small smile and they stood up together. She turned to grab her coat, but his hand still holding one of hers prevented her.

"Bones?"

She turned around and understanding the question his eyes were asking, slowly stepped towards him in acceptance and moved her face closer to his. Joy spread like fire inside him at her permission and slowly he lowered his lips to hers, feeling the exact way her mouth fitted his, letting the sensation of their kiss wash over him. Their first kiss might have been everything he had imagined and more, but this…this was heaven; a shot of pure emotion, affecting him all the way down to his soul. His thoughts scattered as he tilted his head and took a deeper taste of her, steering all his feelings towards his lips, to pour out in her. To make her understand.

They broke apart a while later looking dazedly at each other. Slightly dizzy, Booth stood there for a few moments longer, staring down at her. He had never felt like this; literally dizzy with elation, but he guessed that's what the real thing felt like. The hand he had placed on her waist now shook and he still hadn't let her hand go. Slowly exhaling he finally moved, lightly shaking his head with a smile of pure happiness.

"We still need to talk," she muttered and he nodded at her.

"I know, but it's a start. Let's go." He tugged at her hand, when she picked up her coat and they both walked out of her office, unaware of the four figures that had been standing around the corner for quite some time.

* * *

**AN2: So, what do you think? Was it good? Ok, the question now: Do you think I should add more chapters to this or leave it as it is, making this the last chapter? If you want this to go on I have a couple more chapters in me, but it won't be longer than that. (BTW I plan on updating TFTW and my other story 'Squinty Sleepover' in turns from now on. So a chapter for one story and then the next update for the other one, just thought you'd like to know, in case you guys decide I should continue this) :) At this point I really want to thank everyone for their kind words. The fact that you guys like it, makes me really happy. Love ya all, so much! **


	8. Trial

**TFTW Chapter 8! Yay for that. Yes you could have stopped reading the story but for those who wanted more fluff and more explanations, here it is. Consider yourselves warned, because it's mostly mushy fluff. I couldn't say no, to a guilty pleasure, now could I? **

**Disclaimer: Fox own Bones. Not I. **

**I have to again thank all of you for your reviews and kind words. They do really make my day and for that I would like to hand the control over to you once more. The next chapter can definitely be a smutty one, and we're talking M smutty. If you think that it doesn't suit the story then say so, and your wishes are my commands.  
**

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After deciding to head to his place, Booth had refused to let go of Temperance's hand unless it was so she could get in the SUV and out of it. The persistence didn't bother her as much as she thought it would though, and as she followed her partner in his house, she thought it was actually something she secretly craved. The safety of his hand never letting go of hers. 

"Want something to drink?" Booth asked, turning to head for the kitchen.

"Don't you need both hands for that?" she retorted teasingly, her uneasiness gone for the time being.

"Yeah, I guess I do," he mocked with a smile, and turned to leave still clutching her hand in his.

"Booth!"

"What?" he replied with a chuckle, tugging her to the kitchen.

Handing her a bottle of water, when she asked for that, he grabbed himself a beer, and led her to the living room. For a while they sat side by side in silence, as Temperance surveyed the place for the first time, noting each object that screamed Booth's personality and the several photos he had on one wall. Most of the were Parker's from his baby years until more recent ones of the boy's school plays no doubt. The pictures of what seemed to be Booth's family peeked her interest, and she made a mental note to examine them further later, but what really surprised her were the photos on either side of the Booth family ones. The larger one showed all the squints together with Booth in the lab. It was the same picture they had posted in the paper when a reporter had done an article on the Jeffersonian team. The other picture, a smaller one was of the two of the alone. She had recognized it instantly since she had a copy of her own; one that Angela had sworn wouldn't fall into anyone else's hands but Brennan's. It depicted the two of them smiling at each other in her office, unaware of the camera. And though the size of the picture was smaller than others, the frame around it as well as the position –near the center of the wall- caught the eye immediately.

Feeling her hand –the one that Booth was still holding in his- moving, Temperance snapped out of her thoughts. She looked up to see him watching her as he raised their hands to his face, and gently rubbed her palm on his cheek.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly, as if someone might overhear them.

"I was just looking at the pictures…" At the raised eyebrow she got in response, she chuckled wryly and shook her head. "I was _thinking_ that I believed I was the only one who had a copy of that shot." She knew she didn't have to clarify which one she meant.

"Yeah, I was under the same impression, myself." He kissed her open palm, and she shivered, not knowing whether it was from the low words he just said or his touch.

"Are we going to talk, now?" she blurted, wincing after she realized what she had just said. The fragile peace she had made with her feelings of uncertainty and doubt would be definitely broken if they started talking, but inevitably it would have come to that, she decided.

"Yeah," he sighed, "Actually, I ―I don't know where to start."

"You said we'd talk about this point on…" she prompted, feeling like she was pushing a huge rock down a cliff, not knowing where it would land, or what it would take with it in the process.

"I know. I just…Okay." After exhaling slowly, his next words came out in a rush surprising Temperance. "What am I to you, Bones?" the whisper came out urgent and nearly pleading.

Her first instinct as it had been for the past few years when asked, was to deny every implication of anything _more_ between them besides friendship. Instead, as she looked into his eyes, at the hopeful fire burning inside, one word came to her, and before she could allow her brain to filter it, it was out. "Everything."

At lightning speed, his free hand shot out, and grabbing her neck, brought her face to his for a searing kiss, but not before she saw joy shining in his eyes like a beacon. His lips molded hers for a never-ending moment, until he released her, only to tuck her snugly against his chest. Unable to resist, her mind swirling with what had just happened, she settled against him.

Silence reigned yet again, but this time it was unlike any they had shared before, until his quiet voice broke it. "Will you be _my_ everything?"

"What are you asking?" Her mind was working once more, wanting him to explain everything to her, needing to know what he asked of her.

His low chuckle reverberated through his chest. "I want it all, Bones. I want to have you here with me, and I want you away, missing me as much as I'll miss you. I want your laugh and your scowl." He paused, and the next words came out a breathy whisper. "I want your past and your future."

"Won't my future disappoint you?" She felt him shift underneath her, and rushed to explain. "I think I can change some of it…what I thought it would be. You changed that. But ―"

"We'll figure it out when the time comes. We always do. Just tell me you want to be with me."

She raised her head and met his eyes. "I do." The bright smile he offered her was all it took to draw a similar one from her. Staring in his eyes, she couldn't resist and leaned up to kiss him, for the first time initiating the contact. However much she wanted to lose herself in the sensation o his lips on hers, she broke the contact as thoughts invaded once again her mind.

Millions of questions rushed her, as she nestled back against him. Until now, the moments they had spent had filled her with indeterminate peace, a thing she lacked for the past weeks, but now, she couldn't help but question things. She had to completely clear the waters, if she wanted them to proceed. Before she could select the least 'painful' subject she felt they needed to address, his question cut through the silence.

"Bones? How long have you been feeling like this?"

Temperance tensed, thinking of what an honest answer would betray. She remembered very clearly the first sparks she had felt upon meeting him, and then as the bond grew between them, how she fell even more under the spell of their chemistry, until her feelings became more than she could allow…and then, she was in love with him. Just like that. Not, of course, as romantic movies suggested. It wasn't love at first sight, because she certainly didn't believe in that. Maybe lust was a more accurate description, but love had sneaked up on her slowly, so slowly that she just woke up one day, months ago, realizing that however unwanted her feelings were true.

"It was… eventual. At first it was just an attraction, albeit a strong one, but then…I just knew at some point I guess. Caught me by surprise actually, when I realized what it was," she explained, closing her eyes, knowing he couldn't see her small smile.

She felt his hest expand underneath her head before hearing the next words he spoke. "What is it, Bones? I know…but I'd like to hear it." She could hear his heartbeat go faster, but she sighed knowing she'd have to disappoint him for now.

"I still haven't named it," she consciously evaded the question, however clumsily she did it. "At first, it was just enough that I could see that you felt the attraction between us, but then when my feelings grew, I started waiting for you to see it and do something. That's why I never put a name to it."

"I'm sorry for that."

"Don't be," she laughed it off and raised her head to smile mischievously at him. "What you should be sorry is for terrorizing all of my boyfriends," she teased, but the expression on his face was completely serious.

"I hated them. All of them, and yeah, they weren't the nicest people, but I just couldn't stand the fact that you let them be with you."

His fierce tone, caused a wave of irritation to wash over her. "You could have done something sooner, then they wouldn't have been there in the first place," she pointed out, trying not to get too bitter about the past again.

The self-depreciation in his lop-sided smirk was enough for her to let the matter go for now. "I know. I was blind, okay? I admit it."

"Not to mention stupid," she muttered under her breath, suddenly enjoying the conversation, as their familiar banter chased away her doubts and bitterness without the sting she had expected.

"Hey! Why stupid?" The look of hurt on Booth's face was obviously more for show, rather than anything else.

This felt nice though, Temperance thought. The humor and the little jabs at each other resolved their personal problems as well as their professional ones apparently. "Need I name the sexual partners you had this year?" she asked sweetly, knowing she hadn't missed in her aim when he cringed.

However suddenly the light mood had come, it vanished in the best possible way, when booth abruptly placed his hand on her face, and drew her to meet his eyes. "I know I was stupid, but I swear, Bones. Nothing even came close to this. What I feel…what I felt even if I wasn't ready to see it. Nothing compares to it. I knew I was somehow wrong in what I did, the minute it was done but…"

"Why did you do it then?" The question came out in a breath and even though she tried to keep the accusing tone out of it, it came out if only a bit.

He hands kept framing her face, as his eyes willed her to understand and let go. "At the time it just seemed…necessary." The hurt she felt must have flashed in her eyes, because he brought her face closer to his. "No, hear me out, okay? It was just difficult for me to accept it. That I was done for, you know? So I thought that maybe I was wrong and I had to see if that was the case or not."

"That isn't very logical," she replied, trying to understand.

Chuckling wryly, Booth shrugged with a grimace. "It's a guy thing. Like I said, stupid, but a guy thing." His eyes turned serious once more. "Can you trust me? Believe me when I say it's just the past?"

"I always trusted you," she replied honestly, the words coming without hesitation.

"Can you trust me with your heart, too?" he whispered against her mouth, still looking deeply in her eyes, as his heart pleased with hers.

Temperance returned his stare, finally letting herself give in to him. "Yes."

Instantly his lips were crushing hers, hungrily drawing her tongue out to meet his. Moving her lips against his over and over again, Temperance shut off her brain to everything else, but the man she was kissing, feeling him reaching inside her and replacing the void she had been feeling for years.

Her hands travelled to his chest, and pushed down, so she could gain some control over the angle of the kiss, as he teased her neck with his fingers, playing with the soft tendrils of her hair.

Before she could get enough of him, however, he pulled back, smiling when she followed his mouth but even then indulging in jut a small kiss before he spoke, "Stay with me?" The rough quality of his voice sent shivers down her spine, and she instantly knew it was because she had never heard this tone coming from him before.

"If you'll have me…It's you and me now," she managed to get out before his lips covered hers once more.

Beyond that point, all semblance of rational thought abandoned her.

It was a sweet parting.

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**Too mushy you have a toothache? Want to throw me in a ditch for stopping where I did? Wanted me to stop even before this? I'm listening. LOL **


	9. Verdict

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones. Fox does.   
**

**So, here as promised...SMUT! I gotta warn you that this chapter is rated a _very strong_ M so please don't read if you believe you'll be offended. **

**Also this is the last chapter of this story, and only an epilogue follows to tie things up as much as I can. I hope you enjoyed reading this, as much as I enjoyed writing it. Once again, THANK YOU for all your reviews and support.**

**So, without further ado...Enjoy the smut/fluff**

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Booth was out of breath the moment she had said she'd stay. His heart thudded in his chest as her words echoed in his head. Keeping their lips fused, he allowed himself only a moment to dwell on her promise…because that's what he knew Bones meant. _You and me_, she had said, and he felt those words down to his soul, as a solid vow. There would be no one else for either of them. This was it. The one.

The pleasure of the thought washed through him, and at last his heart allowed his body to take over. Grabbing her by the waist he lifted her until she was straddling him, and then only let himself enjoy the feeling of her there for a few seconds, before he stood and holding her in place –never breaking the kiss- he walked to his bedroom. In his mind there could be no other place for them to make love.

As he settled her gently on the bed, he remembered all the times he had woken up guiltily after dreaming of Bones in a way that he shouldn't have at the time. But the dreams had kept coming, his subconscious demanding that he make them come true…and it all led to this moment. He broke the kiss to look down into her eyes and smiled, thinking for the umpteenth time how lucky he was to be with her right now.

"Are you going to stare at me all night?" she asked with a saucy smile of her own, and he could do nothing but shake his head slowly, letting all the hunger he had kept hidden, shine through his eyes.

Gratified he watched as desire made her pupils dilate, her eyes turning a stormy blue as he bent his head to kiss and nip at the skin of her neck. The moan she let out when he found the particularly tender spot behind her ear had Booth revert from the previous gentle, slow kisses to open-mouthed, hungry ones. Like a train gaining momentum, his hands sped up, roaming over her body, until the clothes they wore no longer provided a sensual friction but became a hindrance instead.

Bunching up her shirt in his hands he tugged it upwards, and immediately after it flew over her head, he lowered his lips to her stomach. God, she was perfect everywhere. Everywhere he looked, every new inch of her skin exposed to his eyes made him harder. He wanted to leave nothing out of his exploration; wanted to know all of her, with his hands, and lips. And he did exactly that.

His hands stroked her sides, as his tongue circled her belly button until she thrust her hips towards him in demand. The smile that quirked his lips faded when the next moment she reached back and unclasped her teal-colored bra, freeing her breasts. Taking a moment to compose himself, he closed his eyes but even then he couldn't erase the image of the silky mounds from his mind. A shuddering breath later, he moved up until he knew his face was level with her breasts and slowly opened his eyes again, immediately focusing on the tight pink tips that strained just a few inches away from his mouth, demanding that he taste them. Slowly he brought up his hand to palm the soft orbs, molding them and kneading until Temperance arched her back beneath him.

His control slowly fading, Booth bent down and took a nipple in his mouth, growling when she held his head in place and cried out in pleasure. This was heaven; _she_ was heaven. There was no other word for this. He sucked on the rosy tip gently, savoring the moment, though his hand kneaded her other mound impatiently. Swirling his tongue around the tight nub, he lost himself in the feel of her skin against his mouth, in the freedom of being able to touch her everywhere. At that though he let her nipple go free and looked up at her face.

Bones' eyes were closed, her head tilted back in pleasure, and as the sight seared itself in his mind forever, he couldn't help bending down to kiss her. Her unhesitant response made the hard length in his pants throb in demand. He knew he was nearing insanity, and God, he had to lose himself inside her soon or he would surely go mad. When her nails clawed at his back, tugging at his shirt, he pulled back from the kiss and fumbled with the buttons on the front, only to tear some off in the process. Finally rid of the damned thing, he fell back on her with a wry chuckle, which faded as she kept staring at him with an inscrutable expression.

"Don't think, Temperance. Just feel, okay?" he whispered, fearing that she would decide everything was too fast and ask him to stop. He had no idea what he'd do if she did that.

"Oh, I'm about to," was the only response he got from her, before she flipped him on his back and straddled him once more. Instinctively putting his hands on her hips, he looked up at her curiously but then all thoughts vanished from his head. She rocked against him, centering her core right above his hardness causing him to groan loudly in response and clench his hands tighter against her hips, his fingers digging in the material of her jeans. Even over the layers of clothes that still covered their lower bodies, he could feel the heat of her.

The next minute his hand found the buttons of her jeans and he popped them with difficulty as she kept rocking her pelvis against his. He needed to feel her there, needed to feel what he knew would be perfect, but it was so hard to do it like this. He opened his eyes and watched as teal lacy fabric was revealed inch by inch as he lowered her zipper.

Something inside him broke.

A second later he had her on her back again, tearing her pants off her legs and then spreading her thighs so he could kneel between them. Ignoring her outstretched hand, he focused solely on the visibly damp material hiding what he wanted to see most. Nearly out of his mind, he didn't think at all before he bent forward and shoved the lace to the side. The sight of her core floored him. The scent of her filled his nostrils, drugging him and he trembled with need.

Licking his lips, Booth restrained himself for a few seconds, because he just knew he needed to look at her face. His upward glance lasted only an instant, but the hunger he saw in her eyes drove him to the edge and he couldn't hold back anymore. Dipping his head he placed his lips over her clit, sucking on the small bundle of nerves, her incoherent cries urging him on until he spread his lips over her glistening core and sucked. Once, twice…the third time he allowed his tongue to register her taste and he moaned against her, making her thrash on the bed wildly.

This was everything. She was everything. Everything he had been waiting for, and he really couldn't wait anymore. Pulling away from her, he fumbled with the rest of his clothes impatiently, and finally crawled back on top of her, his chest blanketing hers, the feelings coursing back and forth between them too much for him.

"I wanted to take this slow, but-" he panted against her lips, and hissed when the tip of him touched the heat of her entrance. He kissed her frantically again and again before he could say what he wanted. "I can't…Temperance. I can't go slow, baby. It's too much."

"Please…" His eyes widened at the single word that left her lips, and the thought of the power he held over her right at that moment, drove him over the edge.

Surging forward he entered her in one fast thrust, and the heat that she surrounded him with made him shout in ecstasy. Kissing her harder, mindlessly consuming her lips and swallowing her cries, he forced with his hand one of her bent legs to wrap around his waist, and then palmed her hip, squeezing tightly as he pumped into her. His left hand came up to get tangled in her auburn locks, fisting the tresses in his hand.

The feeling of her enveloping him, the knowledge that she was his right at that moment evoked an instinct so primal inside him, one that he had never known it was there in the first place. He thrust faster, harder, because then maybe, just maybe, he could go so deep into her that she'd never be able to let him go. He fused their lips together once more, suddenly scared of the building up of the orgasm he felt coming. Never before had it been like this, and he just knew it was the same for her. Their minds were unfounded now, only their bodies crashing and ebbing against each other, their feelings overflowing from them.

"Tell me," he moaned desperately against her lips, when he felt his body stiffening, ready to climax. Her eyes remained closed, her teeth digging on her lower lip from the pleasure, as if she hadn't heard him. He fisted her hair tighter and moaned once again when he felt her core grabbing onto him, coaxing the release out of him. "Tell me," he repeated once again even more desperate to hear the words coming out of her mouth. He needed to hear it, right now, though he had no idea why.

Just before he gave up, her eyes opened, her features rearranging into blissful agony before she gasped against his lips. "I love you."

As if waiting for her words, his orgasm crashed out of him with a roar, the sensation of her convulsing around him stiffening his body more as spasm after spasm rocked him to his soul. And it didn't stop. He gasped as another wave hit him immediately afterwards, tightening in his groin, then pouring out again inside her. He moaned once again, when the sensation sharpened instead of fading. He kept thrusting, crying out time and time again as the seemingly endless waves of bliss washed over his body, and he came inside her over and over.

When the storm finally passed, he found himself collapsed on top of her, trembling in the aftermath. His head resting on her chest while her hands ran through his hair, he tried to at least move over from on top of her, but she tightened her hold on him. "I'll crush you," he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed.

"I don't care," she murmured back, tracing her palms over his shoulders.

The caress brought a smile to his face, and his mind finally caught on to what had just happened. Finally able to move, pushed himself up, and looked down at her, marveling at everything that had happened…at what she felt for him. The love in her eyes was now obvious, their feelings a tangible thing between them.

"I love you," he told her, trying to convey what he felt in those three words that seemed so small now.

Her smile rewarded him though. "I love _you_, Seeley." His name on her lips had him grinning in happiness and he kissed her once again slowly, lazily, savoring the moment.

When he tried to move off her a few minutes later, he was reminded once again of what she had made him feel only minutes earlier in her arms. "Ah… we need to shower. I kinda made a mess." He felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment, but he wasn't really sorry. Far from it. Even though he knew sex between them would be an once-in-a-lifetime experience, what they had shared –what she had made him feel- was so much more, that he couldn't even begin to describe it.

She had surrendered to him, and in turn he had surrendered himself to her, again and again, until there was nothing of himself left. The thought scared him but he wouldn't change it for anything.

Tugging at her hand gently he stumbled to his feet and led her to the bathroom and even though he was spent, barely standing on his own, he guided her under the shower. Hugging her as close as he could, he didn't move for a while. He couldn't get enough of the feelings of her naked skin against his. Noticing her lids growing heavier by the moment he turned on the shower and let the hot spray of water hit both their bodies.

"Tired?" he mumbled against her shoulder.

"Yeah, but the best kind," she managed to reply.

Seeley chuckled wryly and shifted their positions until he could reach the soap and washcloth. For the next minutes he busied himself with learning every inch of Bones' body, running her washcloth tenderly over her skin, washing away the remnants of their lovemaking. When he reached between her legs, he noticed her wince of discomfort, but he couldn't bring himself to regret anything that had happened. Instead he let his soapy fingers smooth the sore skin until a small smile appeared once again on her face and he felt her secrets wetting her fingers along with the soapy water.

Groaning low in his throat as desire coursed through him once more, he grabbed the showerhead and let the water lap against her core until the soap was all gone. When he looked at her face again her lids were half-mast, but he couldn't resist the small smile on her lips. He couldn't go at it again…something surely understandable after the orgasms he had with her. But the need was there, the need to pleasure her penetrate her again in any way he could.

So he kissed her lips for just a moment, before he lowered her to a sitting position on the side of the tub, and knelt between her legs, bending to stroke at he core with his lips. She was so tender now, swollen and her weak cries spurred him into action, as he kept her steady within his arms while he tongued her.

"Seeley…" she moaned his name, resting a hand on his head, and he opened his lips against her, letting his tongue roll lazily over her.

"Mmm?"

"I can't…again," she whimpered feebly and he once again reveled in the control he had over her, but it went both ways, didn't it? He _needed_ to be here, doing this. He didn't just do it because it was expected of him.

"Yeah, you can, baby. Just let go," he urged her between licks and savoring sucks. Delving deeper into her with his tongue, he sucked on her one last time before he felt her walls clenching against his lips and heard her loud cries bouncing off the tiles of the bathroom walls.

Her limp body fell forward, and he caught her just in time before they would both crash backwards. Holding her close he kissed her lips fleetingly and then her temple, before hoisting her up in his arms and carrying her to bed. Her feeble protests shushed, he laid her down, managing to get the covers over her, and then walked to the other side, slipping beneath the duvet beside her. There would be time for more talk tomorrow. Talk of trivial everyday arrangements and bickering over insignificant nothings.

For now they both knew that the most important thing between them was the peace their love had given them. Temperance drifted off to sleep, sure for once that she wasn't alone, and believing she never would be.

Booth spooned his body behind hers, and wrapped his arms around her tightly, his last thought before he drifted to sleep of the long ride that had started tonight. Yes, it would be rocky, and of course filled with arguments, but what mattered was that it would long.

For the rest of their days if he could help it.

* * *

**There you go. I hope you liked this one as much as the ones before, and yeah I know no plot or anything resembling to one, but yeah..I warned you didn't I? **


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